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Derek Fell: Growing up (literally)
A new book explains gardening vertically for better yields with much less space.By Amanda Kimble-Evans Derek Fell, former director of the National Gardening Bureau and prolific garden book author, recently published a new title that gives the ins and outs of making the most out of available space by growing vertically. Fell along with two other garden book authors will be at the Rodale Institute May 13 for Grow Up, Grow Well, Grow Modern, an evening sure to be full of lively discussion (space is limited, so reserve your spot now). We caught up with Fell in advance of the event to learn more about growing up and why it is an important technique in the organic gardener's tool box.
Tell me about Vertical Gardening. What can readers expect?I think my book is the most comprehensive analysis of how to grow up instead of out. People want heavy and continuous yields and they want to save space. If you grow a bush snap bean, you might get two weeks of production and harvest perhaps three dozen beans at most. If you grow a pole bean of a similar variety, you get 10 times that production from the same space. And saving space has many advantages: you can concentrate better management, you don’t need as much mulch to prevent weeds, you don’t need as much water or fertilizer because you’re not watering and feeding pathways. The book not only addresses various types of supports, but also shows how you can grow things ornamentally over pergolas, archways, up the sunny side of a house. And a big section of the book (perhaps the most important part) is the list of variety selections. I give advice on the particular varieties best suited to growing up—some of which might be surprising. For example, spinach is a spring crop, very low growing and has difficulties germinating because it is susceptible to fungus and bolts very soon in the summer. A better choice is Malabar spinach (sometimes called Ceylon spinach). It is tender and more sweetly flavored than regular spinach. You can pick the young leaves off the vine and eat them like candy and the more you pick the more the plant will produce.
What inspired you to write this book?There isn’t a book out there that really addresses vertical gardening techniques. And with the First Lady advocating growing vegetables, there is a need for this information. Particularly urban families who not only have less access to fresh foods, but don’t have a lot of space. The cost of trellises scares people off, but you can make your own. You can make an incredible trellis with bamboo and grocery store twist ties. Bamboo is an incredible resource. I have it in my garden and it grows 16 feet high. It costs me nothing except for the original planting and I keep it controlled by simply mowing over the edges every spring. And of course, the young shoots can be eaten. You can even grow on concrete by simply using a window box planter with a trellis behind it. We just had a group of school children in Orlando FL who created some raised beds and vertical structures to grow a vegetable garden (sponsored by the Green Education Foundation in MA http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/). Each child had a plot based on a design I use here on my farm at Cedar Ridge. Kids love vertical farming. And I think people appreciate the fact that when you have climbing plants you get a much higher density of color than if you grow those that are only knee high.
Tell me a little bit about you…what is your background, your history?I’ve been growing vertically since I was a young child. My grandfather gave me a packet of pea seeds in World War II when food was scarce and I planted them against a sunny wall. I made a makeshift trellis with some string and spare lumbar and when the seeds germinated I guided the plants to grow up the trellis. My grandfather made me a meal of dumplings and mashed potatoes to go with those peas. I can still remember the flavor of those pea pods to this day. When you can grow something very strong and productive, there is something inspiring about that. Professional, I was initially trained as a journalist. But I became catalog manager for Europe’s biggest seed house and helped breeders introduce new varieties to the general public. From there, I moved on to Burpee in the U.S. and worked there for six years which qualified me to become Director of the National Gardening Bureau where I consulted the White House during the Ford administration. I’ve been writing garden books ever since. I’m really delighted that I’ve won more awards from the Garden Writers Association than any other group. I also have my own test gardens at my farm in Pennsylvania. Running Cedar Ridge Farm allows me to work on techniques and variety selections so I can write intelligently on gardening. I have water gardens, perennial gardens, an orchard. I recently purchased a garden on an island in Florida where I can grow coconut palms and other tropicals. I spend a lot of time in California, Texas and Arizona as well and I’m quite familiar with the different hardiness zones and how incredibly varied soils can be.
What made you decide to grow organically?I met Robert Rodale when he and I attended a garden writers meeting together and we got very friendly. He and I were about the same age and he turned me on to organic growing. We even had a plan to do vegetable work in Taiwan together. I came back from a trip and told him one of the universities there was growing 3,000 varieties of tomatoes. Before we could make the trip, he was killed in Moscow. You know, when I first came to this country there was a joke among the garden writers: Turn over an organic gardener and you will find a nut. Now it is the chemical gardener who is the nut. The difference that has been made by Rodale and people advocating organic gardening is incredible. Now we know good soil is the basis of any kind of gardening success. Without good soil everything else falls apart. Composting is a big part of the equation and the wonderful thing is it is not a complicated science. It is very simply and very effective. With scraps you can create a very healthy soil.
What was the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a gardener was the key to overcoming that challenge?I think it is beating the deer. We are adjacent to a 500 acre state park and we have 20 deer in the garden every night. I have tried every kind of deer repellent on the market. The one I like best is made in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and it is called Liquid Fence. It is an organic product made with powdered rotten eggs and garlic. There is also a “secret” ingredient that is actually a bacteria that completes it lifecycle during the fermentation process. I apply it with a backpack sprayer every four weeks and after every rain storm. It smells like rotten eggs when you apply it but it is something you can get used to as a gardener. Once it is dry, the odor goes away. I would steer gardeners clear of coyote urine. I haven’t seen it work and the process of obtaining it is cruel. You have to be very careful today with garden products. I will not recommend anything if I haven’t used it myself and talked to other people who have used it.
How have you seen people’s relationship to their food and how it is grown change over the last decade?It has changed dramatically. More people are growing their own vegetables and more people are conscious of the fact that fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you. People are eating less red meat and there are many more healthy choices at restaurants than there were just 15 years ago. When the First Lady planted the garden at the White House people thought it was to make a political statement, but, really, it was for health reasons. The chemical industry even wrote a letter to her saying it was going to put farmers out of business. It is laughable. If people grow their own vegetables, it produces a greater awareness which can only help the farmers. The chemical companies really didn’t like it when she said they were going to use organic practices. And of course farmers markets have just exploded in popularity. We have a market in every Sunday in near my place in Florida and it is a social event. People dress up and take their children and their dogs. It is amazing. Near my farm in Pennsylvania we have seven different farmers’ markets in a 20 mile radius.
What is your opinion on organic versus local?With gardening there are certainly many choices. The choice between chemical gardening and organic gardening is certainly one. The evidence is certainly clear, though: If you rely on chemicals, you’re asking for health problems. You’re not going to have your vegetables eaten by insects or weeds, but whatever goes into your soil is going into your body. And, of course, you must treat your body well to live to a ripe old age.
What tool couldn’t you live without?My hand pruner. I love using hand pruners. I get out in the garden with my hand pruner in a holster and I’m always snipping things. I grow fruit trees and ornamental shrubs and I just like to shape things. That gives me the most pleasure. You feel in control—making things grow better. A spade and rake and a trowel are essentials but aren’t nearly as much fun as a hand pruner.
Meet the authors
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